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Friday, February 20, 2009

Hello all prayer warriors! We were supposed to take Mercy in to have her three day inpatient and start her propranalol on Monday. Unfortunately, the insurance is balking, and although the doctors on the insurance panel have approved it, the actual insurance people have denied it. Since it was late Friday afternoon, we cannot do anything until Monday at the earliest. Pray that God moves bureaucrat filled mountains on Monday, allowing her to start the treatment on Tuesday. Thanks!

This has been a big week for my plants... Eric finished the two shelves above my washer and dryer. They both measure 5 ' x 3 ' , and are big enough for at least 6 seed starting trays. We put flourescent lights to help add growing light... three fixtures (4 ' each ) hung on the ceiling for the top shelf, and three on the bottom, hung from the shelf above them.

We are excited about this because this is sustainable, and helps us to eventually be less dependent on others for our food. I am also excited to claim previously dead space above the washer and dryer. Since a bigger house is out of the question right now, we are looking to wisely use every corner possible. Eventually I may even put a plastic "door" over the front and hooks on the ceiling for holding it out of the way so it can be like a true greenhouse.

Last Thursday night I planted broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, mint, basil, lettuce, and a few of the sugar snap peas. I had never heard of peas being started inside, but I read about it in the "New Victory Garden" book I got off Paperback Swap. I figured it would be worth a try.

(This is a picture of the bottom shelf. I am saving milk jugs to punch holes in the bottom and let them slow drip into my outside boxes.)

Each tray in the back has 98 spaces, and I probably got a 95% germination rate. We have the lights plugged into a power strip so I can turn them on in the morning and off at night.

This is my lettuce... there is now no longer any reason I cannot grow my own lettuce all year long. I'll need to thin some of it out... those seeds are really small. Mostly I tried to use only one seed in each thing so I don't waste too many.

Basil- it just sprouted yesterday.

Cauliflower...

Broccoli

Peas in the front, and cabbage in the back.

There is only one small area of trouble in paradise. Remember when I said that we are bringing the hay (pecked over first by the chickens so we are not planting weed seeds into my garden...) and manure and filling my garden boxes? Well, the compost process produces heat. The dogs have discovered this, and taken to sleeping INSIDE MY BOXES at night... this is eventually going to cause a problem. Just like that, Eric has another job... building a FENCE around the garden spot... hehe. As if the poor guy needed another project to do for me.

It is getting warmer (and our heater is FINALLY working right...), so we are looking forward to spring. And after a couple months of eating anemic tomatoes bought at Wal*Mart... I cannot wait until my sink looks like this:

Before reading my post, please go over to Amy's Humble Musings and read about her winding country lane... then come back here. You will enjoy mine much more for having read hers. She wrote it the day before yesterday. So go on over there...

OK- you back? Sweet post, wasn't it? Anyway- we were visiting Amy yesterday. She has kids the same ages as my younger kids, and the same gender order, so it works great. Eric and Amy get into verbal sparring matches, Greg and I just watch and laugh.

As we were ready to go out, Eric wanted to see the gun they just bought. So we spent another 15 minutes looking at it (while the kids were waiting in the car...), then finally left. As we drove down the winding country lane she described so eloquently, we see a car off in the ditch on the side of the rode. An older man is in the back seat.

Of course, we stop to see if he's OK, and to see if he needs help. He explains he ran off the road, and the driver's door was just too heavy. Then he climbed to the back, but couldn't slide that door open. Well, Eric helps him get out, and HE HAS TO MOVE HIS LEG WITH BOTH HANDS!!!

I thought, "This is the guy from the blog!!!" (Eric said later he had the same thought.) Unfortunately we are not totally Kentucky yet, so we don't have a chain to haul a car out of the mud. So we had to search for one.

We went back to Amy's, but all they had was tire chains, which would not have been strong enough.

So we went on and found another neighbor with a kid with a Big Ol' Truck, and a chain. The young man and his dad came and had a great time pulling the van out of the ditch. It was a magnificent sight... and about as Kentucky as could be. Just thought I'd share...

Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Great Cap'n Pirate has fixed the link now... Go ahead and copy it!~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks, Maria, for letting us know the problem with the size. I have my people looking into it... (Thanks to The Cap'n )... I'll let you all know when it is better.

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If you will notice, I now have a wonderful button on my sidebar stating, "Pray for Mercy." If you have a blog, and pray for her, feel free to take the button over to your site and add it!

I have to explain why I am doing this. Just before Christmas we were at a church function, and a child who does not attend our church came up to Mercy . This child started taunting her with names such as, "Monster," and "Ugly Face." Obviously this was really hard for me, as her mother, to know hear about.

Shortly after this, we celebrated Mercy's second birthday, and the two year anniversary of dealing with her hemangioma. We have been thrust into the world of a medically needy child, and although I am eternally thankful that she has nothing worse than she does, it is difficult. We deal daily with medication, eye patching, contacts, four hour one way trips to doctors, and watching our daughter's face grow on an almost daily basis.

I know there are many, many of you who pray for her daily. I know many, many of you have been following her story and are storming the gates of heaven for her healing. I am so thankful for each and every prayer you have sent up for her!

I also know that although we have been dealing with this for two years, we are far from being done with this. I have been assured that someday we will go to the doctor only yearly instead of monthly (or more). But for now, it seems a very long time away.

So I decided to create a "Mercy Fan Club" if you will. A tangible way to remind myself when the going gets long that there are people out there loving her. Because each one of you are so very important to us! Leave a comment and let us know you're praying for her, and if you have a blog, take the button over there. Each one of you is a blessing to my family.